Proposed Rules. Proposed rule; limited reopening of the comment period

Agency: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Action: Proposed rule; limited reopening of the comment period
Citation: FR Doc. 2011-18833 · EPA-R04-OAR-2009-0786-201143; FRL-9443-8 · 40 CFR 52

Summary

EPA is announcing a limited reopening of the public comment period for the proposed rule entitled “Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; State of Tennessee; Regional Haze State Implementation Plan.” The proposed rule was initially published in the Federal Register on June 9, 2011. Written comments on the proposed rule were to be submitted to EPA on or before July 11, 2011 (30-day comment period). On June 29, 2011, and July 1, 2011, two Commenters requested that EPA extend the comment period for the June 9, 2011, Tennessee Regional Haze proposed rulemaking for 30 to 60 days in order to review the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), which replaced the Clean Air Interstate Rule on July 6, 2011. The Commenters requested the extension in order to determine any potential impacts of the CSAPR on the June 9, 2011, proposed rule. EPA is now reopening the public comment period for 15 days from the date of publication of today's action for the limited purpose of public review and comment on the potential impacts of the final CSAPR on EPA's proposed rulemaking to approve Tennessee's Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP).

Dates

The comment period for the proposed rule published on June 9, 2011 (76 FR 33662), is reopened. Comments must be received on or before August 10, 2011.

Supplementary Information

On May 31, 2011, the EPA Region 4 Acting Regional Administrator signed a proposed rulemaking to approve, on a limited basis, the State of Tennessee's Regional Haze State Implementation Plan. This action was published in the Federal Register on June 9, 2011, (76 FR 33662) and provided a 30-day comment period. All written comments were due to EPA Region 4, as instructed in the proposed rule, on or before July 11, 2011. During the comment period, EPA received comments from two separate Commenters requesting that EPA extend the comment period suggesting a range of 30-60 days. The purpose of the Commenters' requests was to allow time to review the final CSAPR 1 and assess the correlation between the CSAPR and the Regional Haze requirements and, specifically, any potential impacts on the Tennessee Regional Haze SIP rulemaking. EPA has considered these requests and has decided to reopen the comment period for an additional 15 days from the date of publication of today's rulemaking. 1 The final Cross-State Air Pollution Rule was signed by the EPA Administrator on July 6, 2011, and made available on the Internet at: * http://www.epa.gov/crossstaterule/pdfs/TR_070611_WEB.pdf* . The signed version is not the official version of this rule. For the purposes of compliance, the July 6, 2011, signed version will be replaced with a forthcoming Federal Register publication. This reopening is for the limited purpose of public review and comment on the potential impacts of the final CSAPR on EPA's proposed rulemaking to approve Tennessee's Regional Haze SIP. EPA does not anticipate any impacts from the CSAPR on the proposed rulemaking on the Tennessee Regional Haze SIP. As noted in the CSAPR, EPA has not conducted any technical analysis to determine whether compliance with the CSAPR would satisfy Regional Haze Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART)-related requirements for electric generating units (EGUs). For that reason, EPA has neither made any determinations nor established any presumptions that compliance with the CSAPR satisfies BART-related requirements for EGUs. EPA intends to undertake a separate analysis to determine if compliance with the CSAPR would provide sufficient reductions to satisfy BART requirements for EGUs in accordance with Regional Haze Rule requirements for alternative BART compliance options as soon as practicable following official promulgation of the CSAPR. Dated: July 15, 2011. Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming, Regional Administrator, Region 4. [FR Doc. 2011-18833 Filed 7-25-11; 8:45 am]*